Marta Prominska, In Conversation

 

No man knows till he has suffered from the night, how sweet and dear to his heart and eye the morning can be. 

~Bram Stoker

Marta! What a complete honour and joy to have this rendezvous to sit and chat. In the last several days and nights, I have been immersed in the paintings and score of....Oneness.

I cannot remember the last time I was so completely seduced by a body of work. Probably many years ago when I got the chance to view John Singer Sargent's 'Portrait of Madame X' and 'Fumee d ambre gris' at a small museum in the Berkshires.....but not since and until, Oneness.

Congratulations on such a brilliant tour de force! 

Thank you very much for invitation, I am really honoured! I am so surprised that you’ve mentioned "Portrait of Madame X”, because it is very special painting to me. It shows your extraordinary sensitivity. The way of capturing emotions in this seemingly ordinary image is amazing.

My mind is flooding with questions but I would like to start with-----the paintings and drawings showcased, were they created specifically or were they created, organically over time?

The drawings were created organically at different times. Some of them were created for a very long time.

For example, I painted "Bema…" for a year. I took my time, he was maturing, I really wanted to get the expression on the main character's face.

Some of them, "Antiallegory" for example, I painted during one session. And the last track "Oneness" is attributed to the painting "Imminence" that I painted for my husband when we met. This is very special one. And that's why it ends "Oneness" movie and soundtrack. I have to admit that ‘Oneness”  is a selection of the most important works, which for me are a diary of a specific period in my life and emotions.

                          (photo credit: Oscar Szramka)

Your work is quite vicsceral....

The score written by your husband, Zbigniew 'Inferno' Prominski fortifies every single piece so succinctly. What was it like to compose these pieces of music together? 

Our joint work was extremely natural because, apart from love, we are also connected by friendship. We talk a lot, so it was a very creative time for us. My husband was also present during the process of creating each of the paintings and he knew perfectly well what emotions accompanied me while painting. He rendered them flawlessly in the score.

When did you begin to paint and what did your childhood and education look like?

I started to learn to paint in high school with a painter from Zamość, who taught classes in the city's community center. He showed me techniques and a painting workshop. He instilled curiosity in books on the history of art and painting techniques. I planned to study at the Academy of Fine Arts. I just wanted to paint, was absorbed in art. And then I managed to get a meeting with the absolute authority of drawing in Poland, Professor Wiktor Zin, to whom I went for consultations preceding the choice of painting studies. He was supposed to spend a moment with me, we talked for a long time. He looked at my artworks very carefully and then told me that I was already a mature artist and going to art school would destroy my style. That's how I became an architect, which I don't regret.

Expand, if you would--on your artistic influences. I know J.M.W Turner is one of them....

Yes, Turner impresses me notoriously, I discover his paintings again and again. I draw a lot from the approach to the painting technique, to the use of colors and the movement of color on the canvas. I only disagree with the theory of painting on a white canvas, which was very innovative for him at the time. I paint all my artworks according to old techniques on a background that is initially umber or Van Dyck brown.

My most important paint "love" - and here you will probably be very surprised  - is Rubens ... His works - especially when viewed live, evoke euphoria in me; the bodies are almost tangible, the figures seem to be in motion. Plus the composition, always the best. I must also mention Albrecht Durer here as well.  

Do you devote time to painting and or writing in your daily life, or do you create in ebbs and flows? I know it can be different for many creatives.

I write or paint every night. Lately I've been writing more because I'm finishing my second book (about healthy urbanism). I also write a lot of texts bordering on poetry. I mostly write on a typewriter (a black Smith Corona) on my desk. However, there is always a canvas on the easel waiting for me. In a month I start a new series of paintings and I can't wait to put the first paint on the canvas.

 

Is it difficult, or quite sympatico to be married to another artist of such intensity?

It is absolutely fascinating! Participating to some extent in his creative process is an extraordinary experience, sharing emotions or discussions about art is extremely unique. He taught me creative freedom and supports me every step of the way.

Hypnogogic art. Is this the expression you will continue to expand on in future works?

Hypnagogic art defines my art, describes it. This is the truth of the emotions hidden in the world between waking, dreaming and reality. This expression will not disappear from my paintings, because I would have to change the nature and expression of the works.

Tell me more about yourself as an author. Would you consider yourself a poet or a novelist? Or both?

Definitely a poet. My artistic texts have a short form and most often complement or complete the picture. Some of them are in the album with images for the "Oneness" project. I also write lyrics for music, and I plan to publish a book about a theory of colour. For now, I have one book on architecture to my credit, and a scientific publication on urban planning will be published soon.

Marta, what would you say is your most marked characteristic?

Evoking emotions and creating darkness without using a gram of black paint.

What be your idea of a perfect day?

Misty sunrise celebration and missing its sunset…

Definitely reading books and just being together. I think the reading would be Albert Camus “The Fall”or Steven King's  “The Stand”. Maybe Samuel Beckett that I love.

Finally, are there any future projects simmering for 2023?

I am planning to start a project that will be energetically exhausting, but not obvious and very difficult. It will be our next joint work---with Inferno. In addition, I am starting a series of paintings. The next collection of my works will be surprising and - I hope - extremely soul-stirring and thought-provoking.

Different, unusual, but certainly hypnagogic.

Marta, it has been a sincere pleasure to chat with you this evening! It seems we have realised a few small similarities--Portrait of Madame X and of course, that we are both reading Bram Stoker's Dracula. 

As I have, I know my readers will enjoy your thoughtful answers. Your admiration for Rubens is only somewhat surprising. Your paintings, though stylistically....so starkly different....have a sensuality and fluid movement of thier own. 

I look forward to your next chapter and body of work and of course, future collaborations with your husband, Inferno. 

For some of our readers that may not be aware, Marta's husband and artistic partner is Zbigniew Robert Prominski. Known professionally as 'Inferno' and drummer from Polish black metal band, Behemoth. 

Enter the hypnogogic world of Marta Prominska at----

  https://martaprominska.com/

CJ Ellis